454 and 460 65K load data

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reddog81

New member
Jim Watson said:
Casull can become unreliable and unpleasant to shoot. upper-pressure levels, heavy bullets tend to jump crimp - tying up the cylinder. (wouldn't this be great in an emergency) Also, fired brass can stick in the chambers." [/I]
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I knew I had seen that warning somewhere....

I'm pretty sure I remember reading about an interview with someone at S&W saying basically the same thing - the gun can handle 65,000 PSI but you start running into issues like hard to eject brass. This causes people to complain or they want to send the gun back to be "fixed" even though there is nothing wrong with the gun.
 
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ghbucky

New member
on that triplex stuff: I keep wondering how that would work.

It seems the idea was to have different powders igniting at different times for sort of a 'staged' burn, but how would that be controlled?

Unless they did some sort of compressed load with a filler to try to tamp everything into a tight pack, I don't see how the powder just wouldn't mix together and become some sort of hybrid insanity charge.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
CAUTION: The following post (or a page linked to) includes or discusses loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge (QuickLOAD or Gordon's Reloading Tool data is not professionally tested). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.


From what I remember of articles back in the day, the way it was done with by charging the case with a few grains, 2-4 or so of Bullseye, then something like 8-10gr of Unique added on top of that, and then the rest of the case was filled with 2400.

Have no idea now, if it was compressed or not, but I feel pretty certain the case was full enough that the powders didn't mix together to any significant amount.

Never tried it, never even thought about trying it, it was barking scary back then, and its still scary today, so, thanks, but no...

The way I see it, if I need more than I can get from a heavy loaded .44Mag or .45 Colt, I probably need a rifle. OR a .45-70 Contender, which, I have...:D
 
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1972RedNeck

New member
Found a set of load data from Freedom Arms for the 454. 300 grain bullet over a max load of H110 pushing almost 1800 FPS from a 7 1/2" barrel - nice and toasty.

As for the "hand ripping off" loads, I picked up a couple boxes of HSM 325 grain loads that are on the hot side for both my 454 and 460 and they are a blast to shoot. A box of 50 goes WAY too fast for the price of them. I can shoot either my XVR or Super Redhawk one handed with hot loads all day long and enjoy every minute of it. They have a lot of "push", but not the "snap" or "bite" like a 357 LCR with full house 180 grain loads.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
small handguns with magnum loads are painful to shoot and can, in fact give you nerve damage, if you shoot them "too much".
 
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nhyrum

New member
1972RedNeck said:
Found a set of load data from Freedom Arms for the 454. 300 grain bullet over a max load of H110 pushing almost 1800 FPS from a 7 1/2" barrel - nice and toasty.

As for the "hand ripping off" loads, I picked up a couple boxes of HSM 325 grain loads that are on the hot side for both my 454 and 460 and they are a blast to shoot. A box of 50 goes WAY too fast for the price of them. I can shoot either my XVR or Super Redhawk one handed with hot loads all day long and enjoy every minute of it. They have a lot of "push", but not the "snap" or "bite" like a 357 LCR with full house 180 grain loads.
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I also used the fa load data. I was shooting a Taurus raging judge Magnum with the long barrel. The gun weighed like 10 pounds, so even hefty loads weren't awful. It was a hoot to shoot 300 grain copper solids in too. Shot straight through all 4 cylinders of a Honda someone dumped at a shooting hole I went to. I still have the recovered bullet. I regret selling it, but I also regret not getting a 460 instead of the Taurus. The Taurus turned heads at the range because if it's size, but it had a funky twist rate, and 410 is useless out of it

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
 
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Mike / Tx

New member
I run s healthy dose of H110 or AA-9 with 260-300gr bullets both cast and jacketed. My threshold is around 1600fps with the heavies and just shy of 1700 with the lighter one. Those are out of an 8-3/8 Raging Bull and about 50fps slower from my Freedom Arms 7 1/2".

I really haven't had a want or desire to go higher, these do more than needed in most cases. Below is a 6gal bucket being hit at 50yds with a Lee 452-300 RF at just over 1500fps,
attachment.php
 
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1972RedNeck

New member
I have found my Hornady manual to be on the conservative side for all of the cartridges I reload. For instance, it lists a max load for 460 S&W pushing a 300 gr bullet 1650 FPS. Weak sauce.

But the 454 load for the same 300 gr bullet gives a max load of 32.3 grains of W296 resulting in the same 1650 FPS.

Comparing that to other data with different bullets of the same weight, it seemed hot. So I loaded a couple to try out. In my XVR, they're hot. Very similar to pretty warm 460 factory loads. Easy extraction.

In my Super Redhawk, they are far and away the hottest load I have found yet. In fact, they crossed the threshold from "fun" into brutal. And, they were a bit too sticky in the chamber for my liking. I wish Hornady listed pressures for their loads.

So I have found a hot enough load for my 454. 30 to 31 grains is about max for my liking.

Anyways, onward with my quest for a warmer 460 load...
 
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nhyrum

New member
1972RedNeck said:
So I have found a hot enough load for my 454. 30 to 31 grains is about max for my liking.

Anyways, onward with my quest for a warmer 460 load...
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30 is about where I ended up on my 454. Not because of pressure issues, but that's where the load was most accurate

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
 
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1972RedNeck

New member
CAUTION: The following post (or a page linked to) includes or discusses loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge (QuickLOAD or Gordon's Reloading Tool data is not professionally tested). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.


Had a minute to work up some 460 loads today. Hodgon lists 42.5 grains of H110 behind a 300 grain Hornady XTP Mag bullet with large rifle magnum primers. Supposed to be 56K PSI. A nice stout load for sure. Very flat primers, but not mushroomed.

Worked up to 43.5 grains. Easy extraction, primers look the same. Fun as all get out to shoot.

Wouldn't mind pushing it a little harder, but I suspect I am in the 60K+ range so I think I will leave well enough alone until I can find published data for anything hotter.
 
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black mamba

New member
44 AMP is correct about the triplex loadings. It was covered in the gun rags of the day, and yes, it was compressed so the different powders did not mix, they ignited in succession.
 
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